Product category:
Diecasting machines and equipment
News Release from: Striko Westofen | Subject: StrikoWestofen melt and holding crucible furnace
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 24 July 2002
Crucible furnace replaces bale-out types
A melting and holding crucible furnace has replaced oil-fired bale-outs which, even though they had been converted to gas, had to be emptied and shut down at the end of every day.
You melt the metal, you make the diecasting, you finish and deliver it - and it disappears inside the customer's product, never to be seen again That's the ignominious fate of many diecast parts, however vital the job they do; but furnace manufacturer Striko UK has one customer where, for once, the normally humble 'widget' takes centre stage
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 23 Jul 2002 at 8.00am (UK)
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In today's global diecasting industry, where you produce your castings is becoming less and less important - but the way in which you melt your metal is more vital than ever.
The Iron Bed Company, based in Chichester on England's south coast, uses its StrikoWestofen melting and holding crucible furnace to supply zinc for the gravity-diecast joints and decorative features that add an extra touch of glamour and authenticity to its range of 20 traditional and contemporary bed designs.
Gas-fired with a 250kg capacity, the furnace has taken the place of oil-fired bale-outs which, even though they had been converted to gas, had to be emptied and shut down at the end of every day and took an hour to melt a new charge the following morning.
"The crucible furnace has made life a lot easier for us, because we can leave it holding overnight and start casting as soon as we come in the next day," says maintenance manager Alan Eames.
"By keeping the melt topped up one ingot at a time, we also avoid the half-hour waiting time that we had with the bale-outs." Diecasting takes its place alongside a complete spectrum of facilities at the factory - cutting bar stock, forging, bending, welding, fabrication, painting and packing - so that everything except slat bases and mattresses is hand-made by in-house.
Being so well equipped also makes it possible to manufacture every bed to order, giving customers a choice of more than 20,000 design permutations.
As well as 17 showrooms in the UK, the Company markets its products internationally by mail order and through www.ironbed.co.uk.
It also has franchise operations in Germany, Japan, Lanzarote and Malta, and is now looking for agents in the USA, Canada, and Europe.
Started in 1994 by husband and wife Simon and Anne Notley, The Iron Bed Company has all the hallmarks of a classic entrepreneurial success story.
The couple sold their house to raise finance and started out with just two staff in a disused chicken shed - small beginnings that have mushroomed to today's GBP 10 million turnover and a 200-strong workforce.
(This was Manufacturingtalk's Top Story on 23 July 2002).
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